Merchandise vending apparatus



June '24, 1958 c. F. GORE 2,840,270

MERCHANDISE VENDING APPARATUS Filed March 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June24, 1958 Filed March '2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patentfiice 2,840,270 Fat-tented June 24, 1958 MERCHANDISE VENDING APPARATUSChester F. Gore, Chicago, 111., assignor to Electra-Snap ilwitch & Mfg.Co., Chicago, 111., a corporation of linois Application March 2, 1254,Serial No. 413,576

3 Claims. (Cl. 221211) The invention has for its principal object theprovision of mechanism for separating the top card of a stack of cardsfrom the stack and carrying it to a position for discharge into avending chute, from which chute the purchaser of the card mayconveniently receive the card.

Another object of this invention is the provision for dispensing cardsor the like individually from a dispensing apparatus by mechanism whichis positive in its operation and economical in manufacture.

Yet another and equally important object of the invention is theprovision for lifting a card from a stack of cards by means of vacuumand at a predetermined point to render ineffective the vacuum, to permitthe card to drop into a dispensing chute where it can be recovered bythe purchaser.

Another and equally important object of the invention is the provisionfor maintaining a stack of cards with the top card in a proper positionfor engagement with the card lifting and removing means.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of partsto be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings showing the preferred form of construction, andin which: 7

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of part of a vendingapparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the same taken substantiallyon line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 3--3of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 44 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional detail view taken substantially online 55 of Fig. 2; I

Pig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional detail view taken substantially online 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional detail view taken substantially online 77 of Fig. 6.

The structure shown in the accompanying drawings will be enclosed withina suitable cabinet. Such cabinet has not been illustrated because anyapproved type of cabinet may be employed. The drawings disclose a cardstacking chamber 10 which is provided by opposite side walls .11 and aback wall 12. The side walls have inturned flanges 13 which serve asguides to prevent displacement of the cards from the chamber 10. Asuitable opening 14 is provided for placing the cards within the chamber10. The cards are indicated at 15 and are of rectangular formation andintended to have pictorial illustrations and other printed matterthereon.

The stack of cards is supported on a carriage comprising a horizontalplate 16 attached to a vertical plate 17, the latter slidably arrangedbetween the adjacent inturned flanges 13 as best shown in Fig. 2. Anarrow plate 19 is secured to the plate 17 and has outwardly turned endportions 20 carrying stud shafts 21, to which are attached as at 22 thelower end portions of ribbonlike flexible bands 23. The upper endportions of these bands 23 are attached to a shaft 24 for windingthereon. This shaft 24 is journaled in the bearings 25 provided by theplate 26 secured to the adjacent flanges 13 as at 27. On the shaft 24are provided discs 28 which serve to guide the bands 23 in their windingupon the shaft 24.

Secured to the end 29 of the shaft 24 is a ratchet wheel 30 adapted tobe engaged by a step-up pawl 31. This step-up pawl 31 is pivotallycarried as at 32 by a disc 33 mounted for free rotation on the endportion 29 of the shaft 24. This disc 33 has connected thereto as at 34one end portion of a connecting link 35. The opposite end portion of thelink 35 by means of a slot and bolt connection is'connected' to an arm37. This arm 37 is pivotally connected to the adjacent side wall 11 asat 38. To the outer end portion of this arm 37 is pivotally connected asat 39 a connecting link 40 having its opposite end portion connected asat 41 to an arm 42. This arm 42 is connected to a shaft 43 journaled inthe side Wall 11 and operated through the medium of a train of gears(not shown) by an electric motor 44.

Mounted on the end portion 29 of the shaft 24 is a disc 45 having anotch 46 formed in the periphery thereof to provide a cam edge 47. Onthe step-up pawl 31 there is provided a laterally extending pin 48 whichis adapted to project into the notch 46. For purposes of manuallyrotating the shaft 24 to elevate the stack of cards to a properposition, there is provided on the shaft.

link 52 pivotally connected as at 53 to a rocker arm 54.

This rocker arm 54 is pivoted to a plate 55 carried by the side wall 11as at 56. Pivotally connected-as at '57 to the rocker arm 54 oppositethe link 52 is a rod 58. This rod 58 extends downwardly from the rockerarm 54 and at its lower end portion carries a card stripper 59. The rod58 passes through a bracket 59' secured to an elongated arm 60, whicharm 60 is fixedly secured as at 61 to a bracket 62 secured to the plate26.

On the rod 53 are mounted weight elements 63 which normally urge therocker arm 54 to tilt in an anticlockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2.

The card separator comprises a plurality of superim-' posed fingers 64carried by the lower end portion of the rod 58 and projecting through abifurcation of a guide 65. I

A stripper device is indicated at 66. This stripper device is carried bythe plate 60 and the face thereof is. preferably of softrubber knurledto provide a plurality of equally spaced teeth 67.

To the wall 12 of the compartment 10 is secured a relatively thinresilient finger 68 which overlies the stack of cards and which isengaged by .the card being removed, so as to efiect a lateral movementof suchcard toward the stripper finger as the card is lifted from thetop of.

the stack.

The card lifting mechanism includes a supporting arm 69 connected as at70 to the shaft 38. The end of the arm 68 provides a yoke 71. An arm 72of the yoke carries a threaded stud shaft 73 hollow in construction andwhich is frictionally fitted into the end 74 of an accordion-form tube75. In the stud shaft 73 is a con ventional air valve having a valvestem 77. The valve normally closes exit of air from the tube 75 throughthe stud shaft 73. This valve is of a standard construction such as usedin bicycle tires or the like, and in and of itself does not constitutemy invention, asany'valve with a releasing stem againstthe adjacentsurface of the top card of the stack,

Secured between theside walls 11 is a bar 84. Carriedby this bar '84 isa bracket 85. To this bracket 85 is secured as at 86 an elongatedspringleaf-like member 87". The upper. end portion ofthis leaf 87 isadapted to be engaged by. thevalve stem 77 of the air valve.

The wall 12 at its upper end portion has'a rearwardly inclined lip 88.Arranged between the sidewalls 11 in spaced relation with respect to,the wall 1'2I is dwell,

89 which provides, together with the wall 12, a card return chute 90through which a card is delivered to the. purchaser.

It is intended that the card vending machine embodying the inventiondescribed herein be coinoperated As the coin control mechanisnrconstitutes no part of the} present invention, the same is notillustrated, as any form of construction of coin control mechanism m'aybe. employed. V

I have shown, however, as supported by the wall 89 a switch 91 which isadapted to .be connected in circuit with the motor circuit 44 forcontrolling the completion of that, circuit. This switch includes afinger 92 whieh'i projects into the path of movement of cards through,the.

chute 90. Thisfinger 9 2 is pivotally supported as at 93 from the switchmounting plate 94 and has a portion thereof, which bears against one ofthe leaves 95 of the switch 91 whereby, as a card passes into the'chute9ft for passage therethrough, it will engage thefifinge"g 2, pivot thesame in a direction to bear the end portion 92' thereof against theswitch leaf 9S, and break the contactsf96 of the switch 91 to deenergizeaholding relay (not shown) disposed in the motor circuit 44,

By this arrangemenhthe motor will continue to operate until a card hasbeen deposited in the chute 90 for passage therethrough, atwhich timethe descending card will actuateswitch 91 to break the circuit, asbefore stated, to the motor holding relay. i i

In operation, upon energization of the motor 44, the arm 42 will rotateto effect rocking of the arm 37 Rock: ing of the arm 37 will rock theshaft 38.. As the shaft 38 is rock ed in an anti-clockwise direction asviewed in Fig. 5, the vacuum cup 82 will be brought down upon theuppermost card of the stack ofcards, and the tube 75 will be compressedfrom its normal form against its material resiliency, by the action ofthe arm 69 to the condition shown in dotted lines directly above thestack of cards. Such action will force the air in the tube 75, outthrough the vacuum cup 82. t

The tube 75, as it attempts to expand following its compression, willcreate a vacuum which willcause the vacuum cup 82 tofirmly grip the topcard and-holdthe same until the vacuum is broken by admission of airinto the opposite endof the tube 75 in a manner hereinafter described.As the shaft 38 is rocked in a clockwise direc* tion as viewed in Fig.5,it will bring the valve stem 77 into contact with the spring leaf 87-whereuponthe valve will be open to permit the entry of air into the tube75 and allow it to expand to its normal position as shown in full lines,in Fig. 5. The entry of airinto the tube 75 will break the vacuum,releasing the card andpermitting it to drop down into the shaft 90, fordelivery to the purchaser. t

The expansion and compression. of the tube 75 is permitted by reason ofthe fact that the yoke comprises 4 two sections 97 and 98 slidablyconnected together by means of a slot and pin connection 99.

In order for the vacuum cup to properly operate so as to positively gripa card for movement to a position to be dropped through the chute 90,the top card of the stack of cards should be in contact with thelowermost of the fingers 64. As soon as such top card is in contact withthe lowermost finger 64, the notch 46 will be so disposed with respectto the pin 48 as to permit the pin 48, when the disc 45 is moved in ananticlockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1, to ride out of the notchonto the periphery 45 of the disc 45. This will resultin the holding ofthe step-up pawl 31 from engagement with the ratchet wheel 30, with theresult thatwhen the disc 33 rotates in a clockwise direction as viewedin Fig. 1, the ratchet wheel will not be advanced to cause the bands 2.3to wind on the shaft 24 to elevate the card supporting carriage.However, should the uppermost card of the stack of cards be in. ahorizontal positionbelow a plane necessary for effective engagement withthe vacuum cup 82, the weights 63 will pivot the rocker arm 54 in ananticlockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. This pivotal movement ofthe rocker arm 54 in such direction will rotate the disc 45 in ananticlockwise direction a distance sufficient to dispose the notch 46in, a position such that the pin 48 in its movement in an anticlockwisedirection as viewed in Fig. 1, by action of the connecting link 35, willmove in the. notch, with the result that the step up'pawl 31 will engagethe ratchet wheel'30 and advance the same a distance equivalent to therotation of the disc 33. This operation will take place until such timeas the cards will'be elevated so as to dispose the. uppermost card ofthe stackof cards in a plane forproper engagement with the vacuum cup82. i

As the lifting device for lifting the uppermost card from the stack ofcards to a position where it will drop into the chute performs suchoperation, the end of and be thereby separated, thus to assure thevending of i but one card at a time.

From the foregoing, description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, it will be apparent that I have provided a simpleand effective meehanism for lifting a card from a stack of cards andmovingit to a position where it will be dropped into a discharge chute.It will also be apparent that by the use of thesconsti uc tionhereinbefore described, only one card at a time will be vended. I WhileI have stated the operation of my vending apparatus in connection with acard, itisto be understood that the apparatus may be used for dispensingpackaged merchandise and that the characteristics'of the card may bechanged so long as the card is relatively flat and of a size to fit inthe storage compartment.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstructionfor carrying my invention into elfect, this is capable. ofvariation and modification without departing from the spirit of theinvention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the'precisedetails of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of suchvariations and modifications as comewithin the scope of the appendedclaims. i V i V A Having thus described my invention, what I claim asnew and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: V

l. A card vending apparatus comprising means for supporting a verticalstack of cards, a chute at one side of said stack and extending in asubstantially. vertical plane and into which cards from said stack areadapted to be dropped with the plane of the cards in a substantiallyvertical plane, means for lifting a card perpendicularly from said stackand for delivering said card to said chute with the plane of said cardin said vertical plane, said card lifting means including a vacuum cupadapted for vacuum connection with the topmost card of said stack and aflexible tubular member communicating with said cup and compressible inthe direction of its length, means for moving said card lifting means inone direction to bear said cup against said topmost card and to compresssaid tubular member in said direction of its length and perpendicularlyto the plane of said card and for moving said card lifting means in anopposite direction to permit said tubular member to expand to createsaid vacuum connection between the card and the cup and for furthermoving said card lifting means in said opposite direction to disposesaid card in a position over said chute with the plane of said card insaid vertical 1 plane, means effective at the terminus of movement ofsaid card lifting means in said opposite direction for breaking thevacuum in said cup to release said card for gravitation into said chuteand automatic means for maintaining the uppermost card of said stack ata predetermined level, said automatic means including means for raisingsaid stack of cards, means'for connecting said means for raising to saidmeans for moving for actuation thereby when the uppermost card is belowthe predetermined level and means for disconnecting said a 6 means forraising from said means for moving when said card obtains saidpredetermined level.

2. The device of claim 1 characterized by the inclusion ofmeans-adjacent the top of said stack of cards and normally in engagementwith said topmost card for separating said topmost card from the cardtherebelow.

when said topmost card is lifted perpendicularly from said stack by saidcard lifting means.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said means for moving said card liftingmeans includes a rocker shaft carrying said card lifting means and meansfor rocking said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,749,233 Scott Mar. 4, 1930 1,846,227 Stefien Feb. 23, 1932 2,493,212Zimmerman et al Jan. 3, 1950 2,495,094 Enock Jan. 17, 1950 2,551,477Vore May 1, 1951 2,564,552 Verdery Aug. 14, 1951 2,680,051 James June 1,1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 731,864 France June 6, 1932

